Tokyo apartment sale prices increase for 66th month

According to REINS, 3,819 second-hand apartments were reported to have sold across greater Tokyo in March, up 11.5% from the previous month and up 2.7% from last year. The average sale price was 33,690,000 Yen, up 0.5% from the previous month and up 7.1% from last year. The average price per square meter was 521,100 Yen, up 1.8% from the previous month and up 5.7% from last year. This is the 63rd month in a row to see a year-on-year increase in sale prices.

1,984 second-hand apartments were sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, up 12.6% from the previous month and up 1.8% from last year. The average sale price was 42,250,000 Yen, up 1.7% from the previous month and up 9.6% from last year. This is the highest sale price seen since REINS began publishing data in 2001, beating a previous record set this February. The average price per square meter was 702,100 Yen, up 3.7% from the previous month and up 8.1% from last year. This is the 66th month in a row to record a year-on-year increase in sale prices.

Central Tokyo’s 3 wards

In central Tokyo’s 3 wards of Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato, the average sale price was 62,010,000 Yen, up 0.02% from the previous month and up 5.5% from last year. The average price per square meter was 1,097,900 Yen, up 1.4% from the previous month and up 3.9% from last year. This is the 12th month in a row to record a year-on-year increase in sale prices.

277 apartments were reported to have sold during the month, up 27.1% from the previous month and up 14.5% from last year. This is the highest volume seen for the month of March since record-keeping began in 2008 and is more than double the average volume seen between 2008 and 2012.

New listings for the month were up 0.3% from last year. Remaining inventory, however, dropped for the 12th month in a row to 3,505 apartments, down 4.8% from last year. Remaining inventory now sits at 12.7 months, the lowest level seen since May 2015.

For the first quarter of 2018, 174 apartments priced over 100 million Yen were reported to have sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area, a 61.1% increase from the first quarter of 2017. Sales over 100 million Yen accounted for 3.4% of the total, an increase of 1.3 points from the same period in 2017. Transactions for apartments over 50 million Yen had increased by 18.2% from 2017, while sales under 50 million Yen were down 7.6% from last year.

Growth less apparent in other cities in greater Tokyo

Some of the districts outside of the Tokyo metropolitan area saw either slow growth or a drop in prices in March. Chiba City saw the average sale price per square meter drop 10.8% from last year, while transactions were down 9.0%. Saitama City saw sale prices drop for the second month in a row with a year-on-year decline of 3.5%, while remaining inventory was up 24.4%.

Yokohama City saw a year-on-year increase in the sale price per square meter of 0.6% and a 1.7% increase in transaction volume. Remaining inventory was up 10.2% from last year, the 9th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase.